It Started With a Kidnapped Pig...

Haunted Tomb

First encounter with undead

5

FEB/17

Date: Mirtul 5, 1491 DR

The next morning was cold, although not as cold or as windy as the day before. The party checked their equipment and made ready to investigate the tomb.

Their first stop was at Mhandyvvers Poultry. This wooden building looked like it had grown haphazardly over many years, shooting out single-story wings and annexes untidily in all directions, motivated by the need for more space. There were children around, armed with slings and daggers, looking for feral cats and foxes. When asked they told the party that the creatures prey on the chickens and Minny pays them for their tails. One of the older children took the party inside. The interior looked like a barn or attic, with exposed beams and posts. Pens with live chickens filled most of the odd corners and halls of the building, leaving only a narrow aisle down to the back, where the Mhandyvvers lived. Here they met Minny Mhandyvver, who had the demeanor of a kindly old dodderer, but the party quickly learned she was sharper of mind than she appeared. She sized up the party, asked a few questions about what they knew, and seemed to decide they could be trusted.

Among other things, she shared that a group of town elders (including Tywin Dornen, Ilmeth Waelvur, and Albaeri Mellikho) belonged to a secret club called The Believers, and they pulled many strings in town. She originally thought that the Believers were harmless, but now isn’t so sure. When the party asked if there was any proof, Minny suggested that the party talk to a halfling named Stannor Thistlehair, who works for Ilmeth Waelvur, and who can be found after work at The Helm at Highsun.

With regard to the haunted tomb, Minny said that her adventurous young granddaughter Pell had a frightening encounter with a “ghost” near a long-forgotten tomb a short distance outside of town. Minny ordered the girl to stay away, but she wondered what Pell saw, and she said that someone ought to “make sure it’s safe.” When asked about the tomb, Minny told them that when times were a little better, many rich folks built in the valley. Some were buried in old tombs near town. This was one such tomb, but she didn’t know whose tomb it was.

The party got directions from Minny, and set off out of town.
“We really need to get some winter furs,” said Ulryn, his teeth chattering behind his mask. Having lived most of his life in the Underdark, the variables of weather on the surface world was something he was still getting used to.
“Grow some balls,” said Leahcim the puppet. It was quite eerie how Natas made the puppet talk, sometimes without being near him, Esplen thought. Bard magic, she guessed.
“I think it’s pleasant,” said Windypop, smiling happily.
Farideh grumbled. Like Ulryn, she was still acclimatising to weather, and her dragonborn internal heating was a little different to mammals. The cold made her feel tired.

Within a couple of hours the party arrived at the location of the tomb. A dark, rectangular hole gaped amid the grass and vines of a nearby hillside. A stone door could be seen, ajar, in the tunnel’s dim depths. The door bore chiseled marks that might once have been a name.

“We should explore,” suggested Natas, “and see if we can find those goblins first.”
“There’s one up in the grass, hiding,” said Windypop, pointing, and then realising he shouldn’t have because the goblin realised it had been spotted and bolted. The party gave chase, and soon ran into a goblin camp. Here there were only two goblins, but they were accompanied by a tall, massively built half ogre. A short, deadly fight occurred, and the enemy were dispatched. The party searched the camp, finding only a few copper coins, and food that looked like it had probably been stolen from a nearby farm, including a half eaten sheep.

Returning to the tomb, the party entered, only to have a spirit guardian, looking like a knight of some kind, challenge them, and then attack when they refused to leave. The spirit was tough, but had to materialise to do the party damage, and when it did they could attack it in return, albeit it was difficult to hurt. However a combination of spells and perseverance with weapons defeated the spirit guardian and they proceded further into the tomb. There was undead in the tomb, in the form of animated armoured skeletons, but these too were overcome with numbers and brute force. The tomb was searched and only a few old coins and some jewellery were found, including a silver locket with a picture of a pretty brown haired woman, faded with age.